I saw on ABC-TV news that the Percutaneous In-Situ Coronary Venous Arterialization (PICVA) is being on patients in Europe. Why isn't this minimally invasive procedure available in the United States? Does the Cleveland Clinic Heart Center think that this procedure is promising?

Percutaneous In-Situ Coronary Venous Arterialization (PICVA) is an exciting new technique that is being developed to treat coronary artery blockages. In brief the way is works is to use the coronary vein that runs alongside the artery to bypass the blockage. This can be done through a needle stick and most patients go home the next day.

The US, as you may know, is much slower than Europe in the approval process for new procedures. Clinical trials in humans have not been started here. When they do start trials the Cleveland Clinic will most likely be a research site but there is nothing available at this time.

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